Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-02-04
ARE We CHEATED?
The King of Babylon Read from
Spears and in the Color of
Liver the Future.
The Delphic Oracle DelRded Great
Generals and Wise People by Be.
ing All Things to All Ken.
Tho Christian Religion Has Rescued the
Sinful from Death and Filled thn
World with Joy.
Special to the Gazette.


BROOKLYN, N. Y, Jan. so AT the Tab
ernscle this morning the Rev. T. De Witt
Talmsge, d. D., baptized by immersion a
number of persons who preferred that
mode, as on the Sunday previous he had
baptized by spriukling those who so de
sired. Professor Browne the orgaulst
rendered the ''Sonata" in G minor by
Rheinberger. The opening hymn. sung
by the whole congregation, was that be-
ginning:
Oh, happy day that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Saviour and my God.
After reading another list of those who
during the week had united with the
church, DR.. Talmage discussed the sub
ject: SIS the Christian Religion Cheat? ,
His text was: "He made his arrows
bright, he consulted with images, he
looked in the ."-Eztkiel xxi, 30
The preacher said:
Two modes of divination by which the
King of Babylon proposed to find out the
will of God. He took bundle of arrows,
put them together, mixed them up, then
pulled forth one, and by the inscription
on it decided what city he should first
assault. Then an animal was slain and
by the lighter or darker
COLOR OF THE LIVER
the brighter or darker prospect of success
was inf. rred. That is the meaning of the
text, "He made hiS arrows bright, he
consulted with images, he looked in the
liver"
Stupid delusion! And VET all the ages
have been fill p with decisions. Itseems
i, as If the world loves to be hoodwinked;
TIE delus.on of the text is only specimen
of a vast number of deceits practiced
upon the human race. In the lat
ter part of the last century Jo-
hanna SouthCote came forth pretending
to have divine power; made prophecies,
had chapels built in her honor, and l00,-
900 disciples came forth to follow her.
About five years before the birth of Christ,
Apollonlus was born, and he came forth,
and after five years being speeches. &C
cording to the tradition, he healed the
sick and raised the dead, and preached
virtue; and, according to the myth, hsv-
ing deceased, was brought to reSurrec
ton!
The Delphic oracle deceived vast null
titudes of people: the Pythoness seated
in the Temple of Apollo uttering crazy
jargon from which the people guessed
misfortunes. The utterances We're of
such a nature that you could read them
any way you wanted to read them. A
general going forth to battle consulted
tie Delphic oracle, and he wanted to tlud
out whether he was going to be safe in
the battle, or killed in the battle, and the
answer came forth from the Delphic ora
Gle in such words that, if you put the
means one thing, and if you put the
comma after the word "never," it means
another thing Just opposite. The message
from the Delphic oracle to the general
was: eco forth, return never in battle
shalt thou perish" Ii he was killed that
was according to the Delphic oracle; if
he came home safely, that was according
to the Delphic oracle. So the aDcie Mt
auguries deceived the people. The priests
of those auguries, by the flight of birds,
or by the information of thunder, or by the
inside appearance of slain animals, told
the
FORTUNES OR MISFoRTUNES
of individuals or nations. The sibyls de-
ceived the people. The sibyls were sup
posed to be inspired women, who lived in
caves and who wrote the sibylline books af-
forwards purchased by Tarquin the Proud.
So late as the year 1929, man arose in
New York, pretending TO be divino be
ing, and playing his part so well that
wealthy merchants became his disciples,
and threw their fortunes into his disciple
ship. And so in all ages, there have been
necromancies, inCantations, witchcratts,
sorceries, magical arts, entertainments,
dlvinations and decisions. The one OF
the text was only a specimen OF that
which has been transporting in all ages OF
the world. None OF these deluslons SC
complished any good. They deceived, |
they pauperized the people, they were as
crue! as they were absurd. They opened !
no hospitals, they healed no wounds, they |
wiped away no tears, they emanclp2ted |
no seffdom.
But there are those who say that all
these decisions combined are as nothing
compared with the delusion now abroad
in the world, the delusion OF the Chris
tian religion. That delusion has to-day
200,000,000 dupes. 1t proposes to encir-
Gle the earth with its girdle. That which
has been called delusion has already
overshadowed the Appalachian range on
this side the sea, and it has overshadowed
the Balkan and Caucasian ranges on the
other side the sea. 1t
has CONQUERED ENGLAND
and the United States. This champion
delusion, this hoax, this swindle of the
ages, as it has been called, has gone forth
10 conquer the islands of the Pacific; the
Melanasia and the Micronesia and Ma
ayan Polynesian have already surren-
Tered to the delusion. Yes, it has con-
auered the Indian Archipelago, and Bor-
,eo. and Sumatra, and Elebes, and Java {
AVE fallen under its wiles. In the Fiji y.